Viking Therapeutics’ stock soars 61% premarket after company reports positive results in trial of weight-loss drug

Viking Therapeutics Inc.’s stock
VKTX,
+2.83%
soared 61% early Tuesday, after the company announced positive results from a Phase 2 trial of its weight-loss drug VK2735, a GLP-1 receptor agonist that it’s developing in both injectable and oral form as a treatment for obesity and diabetes. The trial met all primary and secondary endpoints, showing statistically significant reductions in body weight at all doses compared to placebo. Patients receiving weekly doses of the drug lost up to 14.7% of their body weight from baseline after 13 weeks. “Up to 88% of patients in VK2735 treatment groups achieved >=10% weight loss, compared with 4% for placebo,” the company said in a statement. Viking is planning to meet with the Food and Drug Administration to discuss next steps. The stock has gained 250% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500
SPX,
-0.38%
has gained 27%.